Table Talk – October 17, 2018
It seems as if my travel schedule is always feast or famine! I just returned from the Black Mountain Kennel Club shows in Henderson, Nevada. This is such a pleasant, exhibitor-friendly show! Keith Pautz and his committee offer an exhibitor lunch and dessert, and the venue is quite beautiful with lovely grounds, well-maintained grass, and the indoor rings are in a nice building with good proximity to the outdoor rings. Kudos to the show committee for your hard work and kindness to the exhibitors.
I often speak about public outreach and taking every opportunity to welcome, educate and be kind to the public and new exhibitors. To that end, I think we all need to think about how our actions and words appear to the public that attends dog shows. We should all think before we speak, think before we post on social media, and remember to treat our dogs with respect and kindness. For example, one might walk a drop-eared dog by the ear. Is that dog used to it? Probably. Could this look questionable or uncomfortable to the novice spectator? Absolutely. In our world, it is common to give a lead correction while walking our dogs, but to a novice spectator, this may look cruel. My point is to be aware of your surroundings my friends. Another not so gentle reminder is that show venues are tough to find these days. Please clean up after yourselves so shows are invited back, and equally important, the show community is viewed in a positive manner.
Congratulations to Carol Grossman on the launch of her in-home pet care business. With all of Carol’s experience and compassion for dogs, any dog who has her for a caretaker is a lucky pooch. For more information about her exciting venture, drop by her website at www.sitnstayover.com!
Some National Specialties are held in remote locations where veterinary care within reasonable proximity to the show is more difficult to find. It is my hope that the National Specialty show committees will take the time to secure options for veterinary care within a reasonable radius of the show. This was not done for a recently held national and a dog lost its life. We will never know if the outcome would have been different if there was a veterinarian available within a closer distance, or after hours alternatives had been researched. We can all take this as a difficult lesson learned, especially when traveling to a National with older dogs that we may not normally take on the road with us. We need to take the responsibility to be prepared in the event of unexpected illness or injury to our dogs.
Both Val Atkinson and Jay Richardson are off to China (on separate journeys). Safe travels my friends and be safe! Kim and Angela Booth, accompanied by Alyssia Booth, went to France to attend the burial of Kim’s recently discovered father. Our condolences to the Booth family. I am so glad you were able to meet and spend time with your father months prior to his death, and I hope that you were able to enjoy the trip back despite the sad cause of your trip. We are all thinking of you at this difficult time.
Happy Anniversary to Tammy & Gregg Bohlke, and Pilar Kuhn & Rod Ott. May you guys have many, many more years filled with love and happiness.
Celebrating birthdays this week are: Connie Gerstner-Miller, Kathy Musto, Kasey O’Brien (Twinnie: how could you be 21, it just does NOT seem possible!!), Jamie Hubbard, Amy Booth, Bradley Jenkins and Kathy Hritzo-Heimann.
My next stop is this week in Pleasanton, California for the Del Valle Dog Club shows and 25th Anniversary celebration of Take The Lead. Get your tickets now to join us on Saturday night, October 20, for a fun birthday celebration. For more information about this event or to purchase tickets in advance, visit the Take The Lead website at www.takethelead.org. I look forward to seeing you there!
Safe travels my friends. Hug your pooches and enjoy! Please be kind to each other. Until next time…
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